2.4. Installation Media

This section will help you determine which different media types you can use to
install Debian. There is a whole chapter devoted to media,
Chapter 4, Obtaining System Installation Media, which lists the advantages and
disadvantages of each media type. You may want to refer back to this page once
you reach that section.

2.4.1. CD-ROM/DVD-ROM

Note

Whenever you see “CD-ROM” in this manual, it applies to both
CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs, because both technologies are really
the same from the operating system's point of view.

CD-ROM based installation is supported for most architectures.

2.4.2. USB Memory Stick

USB flash disks a.k.a. USB memory sticks have become a commonly
used and cheap storage device. Most modern computer systems
also allow booting the debian-installer from such a stick.
Many modern computer systems, in particular netbooks and thin laptops, do not have
a CD/DVD-ROM drive anymore at all and booting from USB media ist
the standard way of installing a new operating system on them.

2.4.3. Network

The network can be used during the installation to retrieve files needed
for the installation. Whether the network is used or not depends on the
installation method you choose and your answers to certain questions that
will be asked during the installation. The installation system supports
most types of network connections (including PPPoE, but not ISDN or PPP),
via either HTTP or FTP. After the installation is completed, you can also
configure your system to use ISDN and PPP.

You can also boot the installation system over the
network without needing any local media like CDs/DVDs or USB sticks. If
you already have a netboot-infrastructure available (i.e. you are already
running DHCP and TFTP services in your network), this allows an easy and fast
deployment of a large number of machines. Setting up the necessary
infrastructure requires a certain level of technical experience, so this is
not recommended for novice users.

Diskless installation, using network booting from a local area network
and NFS-mounting of all local filesystems, is another option.

2.4.4. Hard Disk

Booting the installation system directly from a hard disk is another option
for many architectures. This will require some other operating system
to load the installer onto the hard disk. This method is only recommended
for special cases when no other installation method is available.

2.4.5. Un*x or GNU system

If you are running another Unix-like system, you could use it to install
Debian GNU/kFreeBSD without using the debian-installer described in the rest of this
manual. This kind of install may be useful for users with otherwise
unsupported hardware or on hosts which can't afford downtime. If you
are interested in this technique, skip to the Section D.2, “Installing Debian GNU/kFreeBSD from a Unix/Linux System”. This installation method is only recommended
for advanced users when no other installation method is available.

2.4.6. Supported Storage Systems

The Debian installer contains a kernel which is built to maximize the
number of systems it runs on.